Somewhere in this dark place there is a clock. I can hear it ticking slowly, languorously, as if there is all the time in the world. There is not all the time in the world. The seconds that the clock ticks away are gone and will never be replaced. Even time travel would not solve that particular little conundrum. No matter where in time you may have travelled as the seconds tick, you are that one second older. For whom the clock ticks – it ticks for you. And there's still so much to do. Time is a cruel master. It stands over you and lashes you to spur you on; then laughs as you fall behind. It races past you like a shiny new sports car, the same car that is once again coming up behind you to knock you down. It panics you. You know that it is going so fast. You begin to make snap decisions, try to cut corners, anything to make sure you can fit everything in. A project due? What is the minimum standard you have to reach? Revision? What are the easiest ways of learning (those condensed study notes people really knew what they were doing)? Relationships? Shall we just cut the chat and get down to business...? In the dark place, you take risks. You ask questions that you shouldn't, trying to steal back a few seconds. You work at speed and hope the end product is good enough. At night you lie awake, begrudging sleep every second it steals from you, the pounding of your heart louder than any ticking clock. Is it the passing of time you fear, or is it something else? Time will pass whatever you do; you have absolutely no control in this regard. If you didn't have to own every second, to bend it to your will and make it subject to you, perhaps it would be different. If you could just, once, permit yourself to relinquish that control, it might be a good thing. Perhaps, as someone told me, the universe would order itself around you for a change. Perhaps Canute should have tried surfing instead of turning back the tide. For now, it is still dark. And the clock is still ticking. And control... is a whole different story...

This Friday - 15th March - the amazing Mr Snee takes on a charity event. Not just any old event, oh dear me no. Walk up a mountain? How mundane.Walk 17 miles while dressed as a giant death machine? Now you're talking!

Jim, Director of The Last Line publishing house, coincidentally the publishers of my Automata Wars series (ahem), will be walking from Loughborough to Nottingham in the guise of one of the Walker series of automata from my novels. He's hoping to raise a bucket of cash for Comic Relief good causes. Sponsor him if you can. Join him en route, even. The official press release is below:

On Friday the 15th March, Jim Snee, the director of The Last Line publishing house, will be trying to raise an eyebrow, if not a smile, and as much money as possible for comic relief. Accompanied by local author E.A. Stokes, and sent on his way by friends, family and well-wishers, Jim will take on the costume and character of an Automaton from L.M. Cooke’s Automata Wars novels and walking from Loughborough to Nottingham. Jim has spent weeks building the complex and bulky costume that will transform him from human being into the man shaped machine known simply as The Walker. At 9.00am The Walker will set off from the centre of Loughborough and it is expected that the 17mile route to Nottingham will take approximately 8 hours. It is hoped that the sponsorship of this walk will raise money for a great cause. As with all the great events taking place on Red Nose Day, the money raised will help people living unimaginably tough lives across the UK and Africa.

L.M. Cooke, the author of The Automata Wars series says: “The Automata Wars tells the story of a population menaced by war-machine automata. So what else but Jim would decide to turn the destructive machines of the first two books into a force for good, by dressing as a mechanical man, and walking miles for charity! Make no mistake, though, this is going to be a tough task; a long walk wearing a heavy load of awkward mechanical parts - we're looking for volunteer foot massagers for the end of the day! We hope that in recognition of this amazing feat of Jim's amazing feet, people will dig deep in their pockets and donate, and we can make a real difference to the lives of those who really need it!”

For more information call Jim on 07711880544 or email at jimsnee@hotmail.com.1

Author

I'm a writer of steampunk/ fantasy fiction, singer/musician and writer at LM Cooke Music, singer in the parody band Mediaeval Biaetches, occasional historian, and co-presenter of the Gothic Alternative Steampunk and Progressive web radio show. Here I will ramble vaguely about stuff. Friends, countrymen, and people who aren't countrymen, lend me your ears...